02 Apr 9 Strategies for Managing a Successful Eye Care Practice
Achieving success in your eye care practice is tied to revenue growth, patient satisfaction, and efficient processes. Success requires a sharp eye for identifying top-notch practice management solutions. You’re constantly exploring creative ways to keep your staff and patients happy.
According to a Harris poll, 79% of Americans prefer to use technology to manage their healthcare experiences. On the other hand, Haiilo’s employee statistics report that 71% of executives consider employee engagement critical to their company’s success. Companies with high employee engagement levels reportedly experience a 21% increase in profitability.
Fortunately, there are several strategies you can implement to boost efficiency and patient satisfaction. The results? Success for you, your staff, and your patients.
1. Provide Quality, Reliable & Friendly Customer Service
Service-Based: As a healthcare practitioner, you provide essential services to your patients, and your practice operates on a service-based model. This means that you can benefit from using growth strategies that have been successful for other businesses that operate in the service industry.
Human Interaction: As technology continues to evolve and become more powerful, it will never be able to replace the value, appreciation, and problem-solving skills that come with human interaction. A PwC customer loyalty survey shows that “personalizing the customer experience is a high priority when activating customer loyalty.” When your patients feel appreciated, your business will gain measurable benefits. Remember, different generations have varying preferences when it comes to loyalty.
Patient Relationships: Patients form the foundation of the eye care industry, making reputation management logical to base your success on their satisfaction. Encourage current patients to share their experiences through online reviews, demonstrating to future patients that your practice is a trustworthy place they can depend on for their eye care services.
2. Enhance Business Knowledge & Develop a Support Network
Stay informed about industry trends, technological advancements, and best practices. Continuously educate yourself on optometry, ophthalmology, optical-related topics, business management, and patient care.
In addition, build relationships with other professionals in your area to enhance your business knowledge and develop a support network.
3. Mine Your Ophthalmology and Optometry EHR Data to Drive Revenue
EHR data mining involves finding valuable correlations, patterns, and relationships in large amounts of data. Then you use that knowledge to improve processes and procedures. Data mining helps gather business analytics, track annual appointments, send targeted patient communications, and find billing codes.
For example, leverage data mining to search for procedure codes over time or by providers within the practice. Pull relevant data on procedures providers have performed. With powerful find and search tools, you can quickly locate annual appointments to fit your search criteria for marketing campaigns.
WATCH ADVANCED SEARCH TOOL VIDEO
4. Market Your Practice with a Purpose-Driven Brand Strategy
Managing a thriving eye care business starts with a purpose-driven brand strategy. Clearly define your mission, vision, and values. Ensure that your brand resonates with patients and communicates your commitment to their eye health and well-being.
Develop Key Marketing Strategies: To increase brand awareness, consistently create and promote quality content across communication channels (social media, texts, email, website, etc.). Adopt marketing strategies to stay competitive with various tools and platforms in today’s tech-driven world.
- Video creation and hosting tools
- Content writing and grammar apps
- Graphic design and photo editing tools
- Email marketing automation platforms
- Website analytics and website builder resources
- Search engine optimization (SEO) tools and resources
- Survey management tools
By using these tools effectively, you can attract, retain, and engage with more patients, leading to long-term success. Read our 43 Marketing Tools to Supercharge Your Eye Care Practice blog to learn more.
Most Common Social Media Platforms: The Pew Research Center reports that many people use social media for entertainment, to connect, to catch up on the latest news, and to share information.
Data shows that the most common social media platforms in 2023 were Facebook, with 68% of users actively engaging, and Instagram, with 47%. Refer to the Pew Research Center Social Media Fact Sheet for other social media channel stats.
Want to help new patients discover your practice and increase engagement on your social media channels? Review our 12 Social Media Tips That Increase Optometry Patient Engagement.
5. Enhance the Patient Experience with EHR Patient Portals
EHR patient portals serve as valuable tools for measuring engagement and improving accessibility for both your staff and patients. Patient portals that integrate smoothly with optometry and ophthalmology EHR software, like MaximEyes.com, provide numerous advantages, such as easier connectivity, greater patient engagement, and lower patient care costs.
The best patient portals offer features such as online scheduling, online bill payments, digital welcome (medical history) forms, and more. Automatic syncs for scheduling, billing, demographics, and health history data can save considerable time, eliminating the need to re-enter any data into your EHR.
WATCH PATIENT PORTAL VIDEO
6. Train Staff to Manage Difficult Patients
You will inevitably encounter challenging situations with patients in any employee-customer business. Prepare your staff with the skills they need to handle these encounters by developing guidelines that address commonly faced situations. Focus on key strategies to empower your staff that invoke empathy, professionalism, and confidence.
Remain Calm: Encourage staff members to remain calm and professional, even in stressful moments. Remind them that calm can help de-escalate tense situations and cultivate positive interactions with the patient.
Be Empathetic: Teach your staff the importance of empathy and understanding when dealing with complex patients. Listening actively, validating the patient’s concerns, and demonstrating compassion build a connection and trust.
Set Boundaries: Establish clear boundaries for staff members to maintain appropriate professional boundaries while providing excellent care. Help them recognize when it’s necessary to assert boundaries to ensure the safety and well-being of both staff and patients.
Avoid Arguments: Emphasize the importance of avoiding confrontations or arguments with patients, as this can escalate tensions and hinder effective communication. Teach staff how to focus on finding solutions and resolving those issues, even in challenging situations.
7. Provide Your Staff with the Tools They Need to Succeed
Getting your staff on the same page is essential for creating a cohesive and efficient work environment. For instance:
Ask for Input: Ask for their input to inspire better staff performance. Encourage a culture of open communication at your practice.
Listen: Listen to their ideas to gain valuable insights into potential inefficiencies and areas for improvement you can implement. This approach helps you understand your staff’s goals and challenges and makes the operational hierarchy more understandable.
Value Opinions: Involve your staff in decision-making and acknowledge their contributions to make them feel more valued and appreciated. This helps boost their morale, motivation, and overall job satisfaction.
Provide Resources: Equip your team with the tools they need to succeed in their roles. Facilitate ongoing communication between patients and doctors through apps and online portals to improve engagement rates.
Related: Why MaximEyes.com is the Easiest Optometry Software to Use and Learn
8. Conduct Patient Satisfaction Surveys
While asking for staff input, why not ask your patients for feedback, too? The best way to improve your practice is by knowing what to improve.
When you conduct patient satisfaction surveys, you’re opening the door to unbeatable insights straight from the source. You could miss out on opportunities and revenue if you don’t manage your online reputation. A negative online review can have a lasting impact on your business. Once you have these insights, prioritize initiatives and address top concerns.
Reputation management helps build patient trust, protect your brand, and quickly address negative feedback. With tools like MaximEyes.com’s built-in reputation management integrated into your practice management software, you can automate surveys and reminders to gather feedback and improve patient satisfaction.
9. Optimize Your Optometry and Ophthalmology EHR for Peak Efficiency
EHR optimization is often the missing piece of office efficiency. EHR software is transforming the dynamics of doctor-patient interactions both within and beyond your office walls. The true power of technology unfolds when you harness the system’s full capabilities.
To achieve peak efficiency, you’ll need software with a customer-driven approach to help reach your business goals. MaximEyes.com EHR and practice management software allow you to tailor workflows and speed up time-consuming tasks with fewer clicks and faster navigation.